A Two AM Liason
by iluvmylowandbaseball
Summary: She says she’ll be okay. Doesn’t she always? It’s sort of hard to believe after the novelty wears off. She’s never really okay. She never will be.


Title: A Two A.M. Liaison

Author: Maria

Summary: She says she'll be okay. Doesn't she always? It's sort of hard to believe after the novelty wears off. She's never really okay. She never will be.

(A/N) Well, this is just a random fic that haunted me for a few nights as I developed it. I hope you guys like it. It's a one shot, so don't be mad if I don't make a sequel to it. To tell you the truth, I don't think I can make a sequel for it, just bear with me. I know you like to read long stories, but I want this to be a one shot and it can only be a one shot. No continuations. This is set in season three after Rory comes back from Washington, D.C. I think I'm making it take place in mid-September. Just so you know, this is a Lit. What else do I write? Seriously.

………………………

"Hey." Rory's head popped up and she pulled her jacket tighter over her pajamas.

"Hey," Jess heard her whisper as his feet carried him to the middle of the bridge where she sat, her head bent as she studied the shallowness of the lake under her, her legs swinging precariously, her feet in flip-flops. _It's September,_ he thought as he noticed that detail.

"So," Jess began, as he lowered himself onto the wood next to her. "Why did you want me to meet you at the bridge at two in the morning?" Rory finally looked up at him, a faint blush creeping up her cheeks that he didn't miss even in the darkness that surrounded them, the moon and stars the only source of light.

"I…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the way I treated you over the summer. I mean, I kissed you and went to Washington, never even contacting you or anything. I'm really sorry." Jess nodded as he suddenly became aware of the wind and wished he'd grabbed a jacket on his way out of the apartment to put on over his black t-shirt.

"It's okay." Her eyes sparkled as he said that and she smiled.

"Good," she whispered, still smiling. He nodded and smirked slightly.

"Did you have to tell me this at two in the morning?" Rory smirked mischievously and nodded. "Is there something else?" Their gazes locked onto each other's and Jess leaned forward slowly and caught her lips in his for a soft, sweet kiss. Rory hesitated for a second before she kissed him back willingly and longingly. As soon as they parted, Rory stared in slight astonishment at him, her breathing erratic, lips swollen. Finally, she took the initiative and pressed her lips against his again with more fervor than she did when she kissed Dean.

Jess kissed her back, returning just as much, or maybe more, emotion. Gently, he pushed her down on the planks, positioning himself over her, with no protest from her. He wondered if she was okay with this. He didn't want to take advantage of her.

His hands slid around her waist, and he pressed one of them into the small of her back, pushing her closer to him. He enjoyed the feeling of her fingers in his hair and he kissed her harder, his tongue licking her swollen bottom lip as he asked for entrance to her mouth. Her lips parted and she brought one of her hands down to cup his face.

About half an hour later they parted, their breathing irregular, and Jess rested his forehead on hers. Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm sorry. I got caught up in the moment." Rory offered him a small smile and shrugged.

"It's okay," she whispered.

"So, this is okay?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding furiously, "this is okay." Jess rolled off her, and stared up at the bright stars. He watched as an airplane flew high above them, its lights blinking.

"You don't care if you're cheating?" he half-questioned, half-stated.

"Do you care if I cheat on him with you?" Rory was looking at him, a look of slight hurt in her eyes. He didn't particularly care that she was cheating, but it still slightly bothered him. She could get hurt. He wouldn't be able to stand that.

"I…just don't want you to get hurt," he finally whispered.

"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself, Jess," she stated indignantly.

"I'm not saying that. I just don't want you to do this if you're going to get hurt in the process. I don't want that."

"What about what I want? I know you want this Jess. Maybe this is the only way we can be together…Maybe I want to cheat on Dean," Rory added quietly. As Jess turned his head to look at her, he wondered briefly if Dean had already hurt her. Maybe that's why she suddenly turned to him after three weeks of avoidance, and animosity whenever her game failed on her. Watching as her blue eyes turned slightly dull, he hated the silence that had dawned upon them. This didn't seem like the Rory he'd met a year ago. Not at all.

"Did he—" he alluded.

"No. He hasn't done anything," Rory answered with slight bitterness as she spat out the last word.

"You sure?"

"How could I not be sure? He's never done _anything._ We've been together for two years. You'd think he had tried something by now. But nothing…Not even trying to stick a hand up my shirt," she added silently under her breath, hoping Jess hadn't heard. But he had heard. He just decided not to call her on it.

"Okay." Rory's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion.

"Okay?" Jess nodded. Smiling, Rory rolled over to him and kissed him deeply. As they pulled away from each other, she whispered, "It's hot."

"So take off your jacket," Jess offered, smirking.

"It's hotter than that." Rory stood up and shrugged off her jacket. "Can you turn around?" Jess raised one of his eyebrows but obliged. A minute later, he heard, and felt, a splash and his head turned quickly to first find Rory's pajamas in a pile and second see a head in the water.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on in," she said, waving him over. "You know you want to."

"Are you naked?" Jess asked mischievously.

"Jess!" Rory stared at him gaping.

"I'm kidding!" Standing up, he pulled his t-shirt over his head, pulled off his sweats, threw them into a pile next to Rory's, and jumped into the water. As he came back up to the surface, he ran a hand through his now drenched hair and swam over to her. She stood as best she could in the same place as he came over to her and pulled her closer to him by the hand. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pecked him sweetly.

"I'm glad you agreed," she whispered as his lips neared hers. Placing his hands on her hips, he pulled her into him until they were practically flush against each other's bodies.

As their tongues dueled for control, she busied herself with how he felt against her body compared to Dean. Rory was used to standing on her toes to kiss Dean, but Jess was only a half inch or so taller than her.

Finally, as the wind kicked in, Rory shivered against him, and he pulled away from her lips reluctantly.

"Maybe we should get you home," he whispered, his lips kissing her neck sweetly.

"Why?" she whispered back.

"You're cold," Jess muttered, one of his hands cupping her cheek, the other still gripping her waist, as he started to bite her neck softly. She moaned.

"So make me warm." Many different images filtered through his mind at that comment but he immediately kicked himself._ She's not yours to fuck._ She moaned again as his attempts to leave a mark on her proved to work and his teeth bit through her skin and he began to suck. Moaning again, she pulled his head up to meet his lips for a desperate kiss.

Half an hour later, Jess pulled her onto the bridge and wrapped her jacket around her. Her teeth chattering, Rory tried to smile but ended up with a twisted mouth.

"You're not cold?" she asked him, still trying to cease the shivering. He shrugged and sat down next to her, pulling his t-shirt over his head after he'd pulled on his sweats.

"I'm good." Jess handed over her pajamas and she pushed off her jacket, standing up to slip on her pajama pants and pull her own t-shirt over her head. "I was slightly disappointed that you weren't naked in there." Rory glared as she put on her jacket again. "Do you sleep with a bra on?"

"Jess," she warned.

"What? I was just curious. Sue me." Rory smiled but didn't answer. "Fine, don't tell me."

"I won't. It was an inappropriate question."

"Can I not ask unsuitable questions when my mind is thirsty for knowledge?" Rory shook her head. "Be that way." Smiling, she finally sat down next to him, and he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "So, how is this going to work?" Rory contemplated the situation for a second before coming up with an idea.

"Is two a.m. a good time for you?"

"If I'm not asleep," he answered sarcastically.

"Do you want to see me or not?" she asked angrily.

"Of course."

"Then, this is what we'll do. We meet here every night at two. Sound good?" Rory interrogated hopefully.

"This better be worth it."

"I want you and I to work. Even if it means sacrificing a few hours of sleep," she said sheepishly.

"I don't sleep that much anyway."

"Blasphemy!"

"I don't," he said, smirking.

"Then how come you never come down until you have to leave for school?"

"Because I have to take a shower, fix my hair, listen to music, eat, and read before I leave. I can't do all of that if I sleep for twelve hours a night," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Right…so, will this work?" Rory looked at him pleadingly and pouted.

"Yeah, this'll work."

………………………………………………………………………………………………...

The nights were constant, and after a while it was what Jess looked forward to after a week and three days. It was working, he and she, and her clueless boyfriend missed every small, inconspicuous wink he sent her way. She would smirk and always repay him for it when they met at night.

They always arrived simultaneously. They would kiss as a greeting, read for an hour, make out for another, and then they'd leave. He hated having only two and a half hours to spend with her, but he was grateful that they had a relationship at all. He'd been hopeless about them after she'd left for Washington without a word. At least they had something. He just couldn't understand why she couldn't just break up with Dean, but she'd say, "I don't want to hurt him." What about him? Did she not care that he hated seeing the couple together holding hands, kissing each other, and hanging around town? Did she even care about how he felt?

But she said she did. Isn't that what matters? Isn't that what he should care about? That she likes him enough to cheat on her boyfriend? But it just brings him right back to the beginning. Why can't she break up with Dean? It's a routine he goes through four or five times before he falls asleep for a few hours after seeing her.

Tonight was different, though. He'd gotten to the bridge at two on the dot and she was nowhere in sight. She wasn't lurking around a tree, trying to scare him, like she'd done two or three times. She wasn't in the water, because he saw no clothes lying on the bridge like he usually saw if she had been. So he just sat down and waited, a book in hand, reading by the flashlight he had brought with him.

Rory was an hour and a half late when he finally heard some rustling and the sound of leaves crunching beneath someone's feet. Looking up, he found himself staring at a deathly pale Rory, her face stoic, something he hated. He liked being able to read her, but she wasn't exactly being generous with him tonight.

She sat down next to him without an apology. He shut his book and turned to take in her appearance. Her hair was messy, she wore a long trench-coat-like jacket, but he still saw a pair of jeans sticking out of the bottom and her feet were in sneakers instead of their usual flip-flops or slippers. That he found strange. The jeans and the flip-flops. Looking again at her face, she also seemed a little distant. Scratch that. She was totally removed by some godly force. That scared him.

Ten minutes after sitting silently, offering no comment at all, her legs swinging idly above the water, Jess finally tapped her on the shoulder. Rory jumped, flinched, and turned her head with a terrified look in her eyes. When she noticed it was he, she relaxed slightly and her eyes lost their scared appearance.

"Hey," she whispered softly. Jess nodded in acknowledgement and he watched her as she turned back to look at the water, the distant look on her face returning.

Swallowing past the knot in his throat, he said, "Are you okay?" She jumped again and then she relaxed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she whispered, looking out at the trees on the other side of the lake. Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, he cupped her face and kissed her deeply. It took her a while before she started to return the favor and even then she held herself back slightly.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he pulled back, his face showing concern. She nodded and pulled his lips back to hers. Their tongues clashed and they were practically mauling the other's mouth. It wasn't too long, though, until he could taste salty water, and he pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were flooding tear after tear and he wondered if it was him that caused her the pain. "Did I—"

"—No, you didn't do anything," she cut him off tearfully, pawing hastily at her face as she tried to wipe away her tears.

"What's wrong?" he questioned softly. Taking her soft face in both of his callused hands, he used the pads of his thumb to wipe away her tears. The tears she had ceased began again and she freed herself of his hands but leaned forward to bury her head in his shirtfront. Jess took in a shaky breath and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her closer, and kissed the top of her head. As she trembled in his arms, he whispered soft reassurances, hoping that she would calm down and tell him what was bothering her. But she didn't.

And he just sat and held her and continued to stroke her back and whisper reassurances in her ear. That's what he was good at.

With her anyways.

………………………………………………………………………………………………...

He didn't see her or her insane, coffee-addict mother for another week. She was pretty good at avoiding him whenever it suited her. Neither of them had come by the diner and he hadn't seen Rory at Andrew's or the music store or the bridge at their usual meeting time.

He was frustrated with her to say the least.

But he kept going to the bridge every night at two, book in one hand, flashlight in the other since Taylor still hadn't gotten around to getting the electricians to work on the lighting for the bridge. He still went because he still had a little hope for the two of them. Rory wouldn't give up on them easily, right? She was the one that begged for the hidden liaison, wasn't she? Hadn't he been the one to ask her over and over why she refused to break up with Dean?

And as he walked to the bridge exactly one week after their last meeting, he swore to himself that tonight was the last night he'd be optimistic. As he reached the start of the bridge's wooden planks, he was surprised to see that Taylor had apparently read his mind and gotten the lights fixed. Looking closer, he saw a figure of a hunched over person staring out at the water. "Screw it," he said under his breath and walked to where she sat.

"Long time, no see," Jess said, ambling down next to her. She startled and looked up to find the source of the familiar voice. Frowning, she looked back out over the water and pulled her mid-leg navy coat tighter around her body. He swept over her body with his eyes and stopped abruptly at her legs. There was a blue bruise under a small incision on her sickly white leg. He let it go for the time being. He'd remember to ask later. "Good to see you too," Jess muttered after she remained silent.

Her legs were swinging absentmindedly and he looked down to see that she was wearing her school shoes. That little fact arose many suspicions. "Have you been home at all?" Still no answer. "How long have you been here?" Not even a glance at him. "Damn it, Rory. Just talk to me," he demanded and pleaded at the same time. "Please," Jess added as an after thought. A little courtesy in this kind of situation never hurt anyone.

Standing up abruptly, Rory shed her coat to prove his suspicions. She was still in her Chilton uniform. Unbuttoning her blouse, Jess found himself a little worried that she hadn't asked him to turn around. As her skirt fell to the bridge in a heap, she laid out her coat on the planks and finished shrugging off her blouse. She kicked off her shoes and laid down on top of her coat. Rory didn't say a word as she tugged on Jess' hand and pulled him closer.

"Rory?" he asked unsurely.

"Just look," she said hoarsely. Jess obliged and his eyes traveled over the top half of her body, small cuts that looked slightly deep covered one third of her skin and he sucked in a breath. Jess knew that she hadn't done this; why else would she show him if it weren't? Thinking about it, he found the missing piece of the puzzle and he put himself in the mindset to kill.

Rory noticed the anger that occupied his features and she squeezed his hand, which she still was surprisingly holding, forcing him to tear his eyes away from her body to look at her. Regretting her motion, she avoided his gaze and let him look her up and down again.

His fingers hovered over her abdomen and he lowered them to graze the cuts that adorned her body. He placed his palm flat against it and he felt her shiver under him. Not wanting to watch his hand slide over her stomach, he looked down at her bare legs to find different colored bruises. The ones on the inside of her thighs were the most recent due to the dark colors. Ones on her lower legs were a little less fresh.

Rory was squirming. She hated how Jess was inspecting her. Making up her mind, she sat up, pushing off his hand, and stood, grabbed her coat and thrust her arms through its sleeves. Bending down, she picked her uniform and shoes off the floor and in the blink of an eye she ran off the bridge before he had time to respond to her actions.

It was over.

Some of her was already gone.

The part of her he'd wished he'd gotten.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

It was Saturday, one week and three days after he figured out that Dean was hurting her. Not only had he hurt her, but also he had raped her. _Raped _her. Raped _her. Raped her._

He couldn't get that out of his head. Now he could figure out why it was that she was all jumpy two weeks ago. He had raped her that night. It's no wonder she was still in jeans and she'd been late.

She was still avoiding him. He figured it was because she had let her secret escape her lips. Apparently he shouldn't know. Lorelai wasn't avoiding the diner though. She bought double the amount of what she usually bought, so at least he knew that Rory was eating. Jess was still worried about her, even if she'd been as cold as the Artic wind he still cared about her. There was nothing in the universe that could stop him from caring about her.

It was about midnight when Jess sneaked out of the apartment that Saturday, well technically it was Sunday. His feet carried him in the general direction of Rory's house. He wasn't exactly sure of what he was doing; he just wanted to see if she was okay; to see if Dean had ceased any abuse.

Walking up the porch steps, he was suddenly glad that they didn't have a dog. Jess walked over to her window to see that the curtains weren't drawn, he looked in to find her room dark and her eyes were cracked open. Tapping lightly on the windowpane, she jumped and looked at him. Rory hesitated before coming up to the window and pushed it to the side.

"Hey," Jess whispered. "Can I come in?" Nodding imperceptibly, she moved out of the way to let him in.

Stepping inside her room, he saw that she was wearing pajamas that had a light blue background with suns and clouds covering up the sky. She stared at him embarrassedly, pushing her hair behind her ears with both of her hands. Jess stepped closer to her and put his hands on her hips. It took her a moment before she wrapped her arms around her neck. Leaning in, Jess caught her lips in his for a slow kiss. He hadn't kissed her in two weeks and he had begun to miss it. He had missed her too. She deepened the kiss, surprising him, and she began to lead them to her bed.

Once on the mattress, Jess was positioned over her and his hand was skimming the waistline of her pants. As his hand moved higher up her stomach Jess began to feel the rough scars from all the small cuts Dean had carved into her body.

He pulled his lips away from hers, and he felt bad. Feeling like he took advantage of her, he rested his forehead against hers and kissed the tip of her nose. Rory let out a shaky breath and closed her eyes.

"I missed you," she whispered. "Sure, I was the one avoiding you, but I couldn't exactly stop thinking about you, you know." Jess nodded.

"Same here." The corner of her mouth twitched and she picked her head up to kiss him again.

As the kiss intensified, she found him playing with the hem of his shirt. Driving his tongue into her mouth, Jess moved his hand farther up her shirt and placed them on her breasts. Happy she wasn't wearing a bra, he smiled as his question from weeks before was answered. As he squeezed them, he heard her moan beneath him. Rory began to pull his t-shirt over his head, but he resisted. Pulling back, he rested his forehead against hers again.

"I'm sorry," Jess whispered. "I don't want to do this, Rory. I can't. I won't take advantage of you."

"Did it ever occur to you that, maybe, I want this more than anything right now?" she murmured.

"You said maybe. I don't want to do this. We can't. You're still with Dean." She flinched at the mention of her boyfriend's name and it didn't go unnoticed by Jess.

"I don't care about Dean," Rory muttered under her breath.

"Do you really get over rape that easily?" She looked into his eyes, her eyes shining with terror. Rory gulped loudly and tears filled her eyes.

"How'd—"

"—I'm not an idiot. I saw the bruises, Rory." The tears fell silently, rolling down her cheeks and curving around her chin before they fell onto her shirt.

"Maybe I learnt to deal with it after a few times," she whispered and pushed him off her. "Just go, Jess." He shook his head at her request and basked in the new information he'd just acquired. He'd been right. Dean raped her all the time.

"I'm not leaving until you tell me you're going to break up with Dean and that you're going to tell your mother and the police about this," he stated.

"Jess," she sobbed. Adjusting her pajama top, Rory shook with sobs and she put her flat palms against his chest, pushing him towards the window. Jess put his hands on hers and held them tightly in place. She began to curl them and attempted to punch his chest but couldn't. Moving forward, Rory buried her head into his chest and put her hands down by her side. Jess wrapped his arms around her back as she sobbed into his shirt and kissed the top of her head.

"I can't believe I let this happen," she mumbled into his chest. "How could I let this happen?"

"You didn't do anything. This isn't your fault," he reassured softly.

"Yes, I did. I cheated on him and I lied about it and I let him rape me and beat me without even caring. And then I dodged you all this time. I'm so, so sorry," Rory sobbed. Jess held her tightly and kissed her hair again.

"It's okay. I'm okay... You, however, aren't."

"I know." She continued to weep into his shirt. They stood like that for an hour until she didn't have it in her to cry anymore.

Pulling away, she looked up into his eyes and wavered slightly. Seeing this, Jess grabbed her upper arm softly and steadied her. Rory whispered, "I'm going to break up with him." Jess nodded.

"Okay." She began to nibble on her bottom lip and Jess raised a hand to her face to wipe away the tears shed. Rory leaned into his touch and opened her mouth to say something but refrained. "What?" She just shook her head and he watched the corner of her mouth twitch.

"It's nothing. Just forget it." He nodded and leaned forward to kiss her chastely.

"I better go," he said after pulling away to look at her alarm clock. "I'll see you…" he trailed off, half-smiled sadly, and turned to leave out the window. Rory walked over to the window and locked it, then drew the curtains.

"Someday," she finished for him.

………………………………………………………………………………………………...

"Hello?" Jess answered the phone, one week later.

"Hey." Smiling, Jess sat up in his bed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Hey." He looked over at his alarm clock. "Is there a reason why you're calling me at midnight? Luke's asleep."

"Sorry," Rory said on the other line.

"You okay?" he murmured.

"Yeah," she answered hesitantly.

"Let me get into the bathroom. I can talk to you in there." Jess got up and walked towards the bathroom. Shutting the door behind him, he slid down it and sat on the floor with his elbows resting on his knees that were drawn up two inches away from his chest. "Okay, I can talk now."

"Good."

"So, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

"You sure?" he interrogated softly.

"I just wanted to say that…that I broke up with Dean tonight," she said quietly. Jess stitched his eyebrows together.

"Huh."

"Please don't turn monosyllabic on me now, Jess," Rory pleaded.

"I…what—what do you want me to say?" he said irritably.

"I don't—I don't know. I just need you to tell me something. Anything. Tell me everything's going to be okay." As she said the latter, her voice jumped an octave higher and she let out a soft sob. Jess sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He hated when she cried.

"I can't say that. I don't want to promise you something that may not be true." She let out another sob and then he heard her take in a shaky breath. "You let this go on too long, Rory."

"I know," she cried.

"I'll try to…try to help you. With…whatever," Jess offered.

"Really?" Jess nodded and then remembered that she couldn't see him.

"Yeah. Really." A never-ending silence ensued.

"Jess?" she questioned in a small voice.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I didn't stop this," Rory continued quietly.

"You couldn't help it. It's not your fault," he said sighing.

"Are you even faking to be interested in my story?"

"What are you talking about? I'm listening, aren't I?" Jess spat angrily.

"Yeah, but I'm not exactly getting truckloads of feedback."

"Do you want feedback?" he asked, obviously annoyed.

"I wouldn't mind it."

"Fine. This is my feedback: You were stupid. If you'd wanted to be with me, all you had to do was break up with Dean. You didn't need to get into this mess."

"Is that what you think?"

"Yes."

"Okay. At least now I know."

"You know what?"

"I know that you think I'm stupid. Look, I didn't want to break up with Dean because I didn't want to hurt him."

"Look who ended up getting hurt in the process."

"Jess, he'd been nothing but good to me."

"He'd been, being past tense. You should've just ended it with him when all of this began instead of avoiding me. You could have at least talked to me."

"Well maybe I didn't know how without you trying to kill him."

"You still could've told me."

"Look, I know I was stupid. I'm sorry I didn't tell you when it started and I'm sorry that I started this relationship," Rory ended the sentence in a high pitch again and let out another trembling sob.

"I'm not…I just didn't want to see you get hurt," Jess stated softly.

"And you didn't. That was one of the reasons I evaded you. You warned me but I didn't listen," she said after a minute of hearing her crying.

"I didn't really believe that Dean would do that even if I hate the bastard."

"Me neither."

"So, you want to tell me what happened?" Jess said after another silent minute.

"Actually, I would. Every little bit." Jess nodded.

"Okay."

"But, I…I want to tell you something first."

"Shoot."

"I love you," he heard her whisper. His eyes widened and a small smile graced his features despite the story he knew he'd be hearing. He hadn't heard someone tell him they loved him since he was ten. Jess had no recollection of ever telling someone he loved her at all. This would be hard. Because he did love her. He'd figured that out after she'd left him at the bus stop last summer. A lot had happened since then.

"Same here."

Same here.

………………………………………………………………………………………………...

So, did you like? I have to know what you think so drop me a line. I won't be too relaxed about this story until I get enough feedback. At least ten reviews for this would be great. I hope it was okay that I developed this one shot around the same plot as From The Start. Well, please, please, please review. Tell me what you want. Flames are welcome. This is I begging you.

Yes, I know the characters were slightly out of character.

Still, review.


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